


i hope you blink before i do

by nearlyhurricanes



Category: Newsies - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Post-Break Up, alcohol mention, i guess, idk if i explicitly say it but jack has adhd, not a breakup between jack and david, nothing too intense though
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:22:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28998198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nearlyhurricanes/pseuds/nearlyhurricanes
Summary: It's been three months since David's boyfriend broke up with him, and he's still hung up on him. Jack just wants to help, somehow.
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, David Jacobs/Original Male Character(s), Sarah Jacobs/Katherine Plumber Pulitzer
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "No Children" by the Mountain Goats.

"Sheesh, Davey. Next time, don't get her food too."

Jack looked up from his meal in disbelief. "Next time? You're not his Uber Eats driver, Dave. Chris..." _broke up with you_ , he doesn't say. It feels too mean, too honest, even if it's been three months now. "Chris has a girlfriend. There can't be a next time. Today is bad enough. Les, stop enabling him." 

To his credit, David at least looked a little guilty. "I mean, I have to go see him anyway. I borrowed his car to drive over here. And she's not his girlfriend, they're just studying together."

Les nodded triumphantly. "See? There's nothing wrong with it. Chris lent David his car, David brings him dinner." 

Jack snorted. "Tough. If he wanted dinner, he should have come with us. No free delivery." He looked around the table for support. Katherine looked uneasy, and Sarah stayed quiet. Les didn't get to visit his older siblings at college very often, and clearly no one wanted to start a fight about David's love life in a near-empty Indian restaurant on a Thursday night. Too awkward, too upsetting. For a second, everyone was silent. The waitress came back and handed David a small stack of to-go boxes, and he muttered a "thank you." 

Katherine forced a smile. "So! You'll never believe what that guy in my journalism class said today. Total jackass." Jack let her change the subject, willing to give it a rest for now. But he knew he was right, and the annoyance simmered under the surface for the rest of the meal. 

It finally exploded out of him before they even left the parking lot, the second Katherine slammed her car door shut. "What the fuck is wrong with him, Kath!" Out of the corner of his eye, Jack sees David turn around. The Jacobs are parked right next to him and Katherine. Good. Someone needs to get it in David's head that he's acting stupid, and it seems like Jack is the only one who has the guts. The second they make eye contact, though, David looks away and gets into his ex-boyfriend's car with his brother and sister. Jack feels a pang in his chest. He's not mad at Davey, not really. He's embarrassed for him, maybe. And dreading whatever world of hurt he's going to find himself in once he realizes that nothing is going to win Chris back. More quietly this time, he says, "I just wish he would stand up for himself. He doesn't owe that guy anything."

Katherine sighed. "You know he doesn't see it like that. David likes to be there for people, show them that he cares. Sarah told me he's being a total pushover, but I didn't realize it had gotten this bad." 

And it was bad. They had all liked Chris at the beginning. He was the same age as Katherine--a year older than Davey, Jack, and Sarah--but he had an unmistakable air, a coolness, that made him seem worldly and all-knowing. Jack and David were roommates freshman year, and with Sarah had quickly become a tight-knit trio. When Sarah started going out with Katherine--the tall, clever, frank girl from her US History class--he felt a twinge of jealousy that it had been so easy for them, these two incredible girls who worked so well together, but of course he welcomed her to their group, and three became four before they knew it. 

Clearly, David had assumed that his relationship with Chris would go the same way. But Chris wasn't Katherine. He was possessive in little ways that almost went unnoticed, but still upset the group dynamic. Jack felt like he was holding his breath every time he and Chris were in the same room. He'd heard about some odd things Chris had said, but they were just rumors--Davey never admitted if any of them were true, at least not to Jack. And anyway, it's not like any of them were obvious red flags, at least at first. According to Sarah, Chris had asked her if David had any exes. She told him that was a question for his boyfriend, not her. Jack worked at the Chipotle in the student union, and one day his coworker, who inexplicably went by Spot, told him that Chris and Davey had gotten into a fight the night before about whether Dave was taking Chris to the airport. They had been sitting in the dorm lobby at three in the morning, scrambling to finish a group project that was past due. Chris had an eight AM flight, and Dave asked if he could just take the bus. "What the hell, man?" Chris had apparently said. "That's what you do when you're dating someone. You drive them to the airport. Would you drive me to the airport?" he asked, whipping around to face the third member of their group, who Spot had never met. "Sure, man, whatever you need," he said easily, barely taking his eyes off his computer. Chris turned back to David. "See? That's a friend. What are you? Nothing." 

"Anyway, it was a hot mess," Spot had told Jack, wiping down the counter. "I know I don't know any of 'em, but he seems like a shit guy."

And Chris was definitely a shit guy. Back then, Jack hadn't wanted to make a huge deal out of what he'd heard from Spot--it was late at night, everyone was stressed out, maybe Chris had apologized--but he did make sure that Davey knew Jack was there if he ever wanted to talk, and so were Katherine and Sarah. But he hadn't talked to them, at least until a few weeks later, when they were celebrating the end of the semester on the roof of someone's apartment building--no one was quite sure who--and David was nowhere to be seen.

Jack eventually found him wandering around the third floor of the parking garage, with a cup full of too much vodka and not enough Dr. Pepper and red-rimmed eyes.

"It's over," David whispered, and sank to the floor, leaning against a red sedan. 

Jack eased down next to him, and gently moved the cup away from Davey. Maybe more alcohol wasn't the best choice right now. "It'll be okay, Dave," he promised. 

David snorted. "Yeah, whatever. It fucking sucks."

Jack put his arm around Dave. "Of course it sucks. You loved him." At that, David started to hiccup, and tears streamed down his cheeks. "It's okay, Davey. Just let it out."

Looking back as he sat in the car with Katherine, Jack sort of knew why David hadn't gotten over Chris. First of all, he was pretty sure Chris didn't want him to. Jack always tried to give people space, at least for a few weeks, whenever he ended things (not that he'd ever dated anyone seriously. There had been a couple of people, girls and boys alike, that he thought he'd hit it off with, but then it never felt right, like he wasn't quite acting like himself, and whenever someone tried to plan a second date he found himself saying he didn't want to be in a relationship). But Davey still worked on projects with Chris, and asked to borrow his car, and offered to bring him takeout. He never got the distance that Jack was sure he needed. And somehow, David hadn't become disillusioned with Chris's all-too-cool persona like the others had. Jack had heard Sarah and Katherine psychoanalyze Chris to the moon and back, enough times to know that he wasn't imagining things. But it was easy for David to overlook the bad moments, Jack figured. Chris probably made him feel important, and wanted, at least when he bothered to pay attention at all. He didn't blame Les, either. The kid couldn't see what was going on like Jack could. 

"What do you think we should do about it?" Katherine asked. "Can we, like, stage an intervention?"

Jack smiled a little at that. "Seems a little dramatic," he said, "but you know I love theatrics." Maybe the only way to help Dave was to show him that Chris wasn't the only one who could make him feel important. That he was smart, and kind, and helpful all on his own. That his friends loved him, and they would take care of him more than his shitbag ex ever knew how. Jack would take care of him. Because that's what friends did for each other, and Davey was the best friend he'd ever had.


	2. Chapter 2

It had been two weeks since the night at the restaurant, and Jack still wasn't quite sure what to do about Davey. They were best friends, or at least they were supposed to be. No matter how Jack felt about David, his top priority was always making sure his friends were happy. And there's no way Dave was happy right now. 

For one, he kept lying about his plans, avoiding talking about what he'd been up to. Jack knew that meant he was seeing Chris and keeping it a secret. It was beyond frustrating, Jack thought, to be so right about something--namely, that Chris was bad news--and know that Davey was blocking him out on purpose because he didn't want to hear it. But David always looked tense these days, his shoulders just a little too high up, his smiles not as quick as they used to be. 

Jack and David hadn't talked about it--Chris, the tension, any of it--but as they walked home from a party together, just this side of tipsy, Jack wondered if the alcohol would finally give him the courage. Or maybe just an excuse. Right before he and David went their separate ways, Jack spoke up. "You better take care of yourself, okay?" 

David paused. "Yeah. Alright. You too."

"You know what I'm talking about. He's not good for you, you know that."

David huffed a little and smiled. "Sure, Jack. I'll be okay." 

Part of Jack wanted to scream. He reached out and held David's arm, loosely, almost asking him not to leave. "Davey. What are you even doing with him anymore?"

David shook his arm free and turned away. "God, Jack, just lay off. Please."

"Okay. Okay." Jack raised his hands and stepped backwards. "I care about you, Davey, you know that. That's all."

David sighed. "Text me when you get home, okay?" With that, he walked off, not even turning back to look at Jack. 

As David climbs the steps to his apartment, he gets a phone call. Jack. He answers.

"I'm home," Jack says. "He's not good for you." 

David sighs. His head hurts. "Goodnight, Jack." He hangs up the phone, unlocks the door to his apartment, and goes straight to bed.

*******

It's hard, harder than David thought it would be, to be in this kind of situation. Chris was the first boyfriend he ever had--the first guy who liked him at all, even--and he didn't know how to give that up, even when it wasn't that great. Some days he was embarrassed that he cared at all. Embarrassed that he had loved Chris in the first place, actually loved him, when he honestly wasn't that great. He was interesting, for sure--sort of intense, liked to start arguments and surprise everyone by saying something provocative or unexpected--but he also knew that he was interesting, and always wanted to be the smartest, most admired person in the room. 

David wasn't like that at all. He wasn't shy, necessarily, but definitely an overthinker, and not really interested in arguments. It was fun, sometimes, to be around someone with that much energy. It's the same thing David liked about Jack. But the difference between Jack and Chris was that Jack would never try to embarrass him, or make him feel dumb. Jack was loyal, almost to a fault, and would do anything for his friends. With Chris, David never felt like he came first, or even in a close second. 

Still, a part of him just wanted to vacuum up all the attention Chris gave him while he still could. They weren't together anymore, not technically, but they still made excuses to meet up--borrowing a textbook, working on a problem set for class. It wasn't perfect, obviously, but it felt like his consolation prize. Katherine and Sarah had their perfect relationship, of course, and Jack had people falling for him without even trying, but at least David had something, had somebody who wanted him around. Well, somebody who wanted him around whenever he was bored. 

The last thing David wanted was for Jack to pity him. It's easy to tell someone to move on when you have countless other options and the confidence to pursue them. And sure, there was nothing wrong with being single. David had been single before, and he was single now, kind of. It's just. A lot nicer when there's someone else around, like a constant. It seemed like Jack didn't get that. He liked to date people until the novelty of someone new wore off, and then he was back again, glued to David's side. It wasn't a hardship, spending time with his best friend, not at all, but David was always aware that he wasn't the only one vying for Jack's attention. And, okay, Chris wasn't exactly a constant either. He definitely wasn't someone David could rely on, but it was better than nothing, right? 

At this point, David had no idea what to do. He knew Jack was right about Chris, as embarrassing as it was to get called out in front of their friends. He felt stuck. He could be lonely, and maybe salvage some pride, or he could go back to Chris and try and manage his own expectations. 

David checked his phone and realized there was a new text from Jack.

_Hey Davey. Movie night?_

Well. At least he could put off the decision for one more day. And if seeing that nickname--Jack's name for him--in his phone made his heart pound for just a second, no one needed to know. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every time I write a chapter for this I feel like I'm not going to continue it. But after that crazy snowstorm in the US, I sort of had a mental reset long enough to feel like writing again. Let me know what you think!

Jack felt weirdly tense and jittery as he waited for David to come over, and he didn't really know why. They weren't in a fight, not really. Their friendship wouldn't be ruined by a disagreement over Davey's love life. Would it? Probably no one ever thought they would lose their best friend. But it happens all the time, whether it blows up in your face or you just drift apart. Tonight was an olive branch, sort of. Jack made a pact with himself--no sort-of-ex-boyfriend conversation, no cryptic comments. Just be there, and be fun, and be a distraction. That was Jack at his best, anyway. 

\----------------------

It felt like it had been forever since David had gone over to Jack's apartment for movie night. Still, the second he crossed the threshold, David felt a sense of comfort and familiarity wash over him--that sense that everything is happening just as you expected it to. Jack had left his door unlocked, as usual, and he was lying on the couch upside down, playing some video game while half-watching TV and listening to music. "Gossip Girl? Really?"

Jack grinned and tumbled off the couch. "Yeah, I know. It's good for background noise, not much else." He turned off the music and stretched, his shirt riding up. David looked away. 

"I, uh, brought us some snacks," he said, lifting up a plastic bag. "Takis and cookie dough. What are we watching?"

\----------------------

They ended up watching something for one of David's film classes--which usually meant European, depressing, or gay (it looked like today was going to be all of the above). Jack barely bothered paying attention to the screen. He wanted to be the type of person who liked foreign films, but honestly, it was hard enough to focus on a movie without having to read subtitles. Jack was a die-hard multitasker, which probably meant he would never be a film bro. But that was okay. David knew enough about movies for the both of them, and he always put on something more up Jack's alley (anything from a slasher flick to a classic romcom--nothing better than a formula movie done really, really well) as a chaser to a capital-F Film like this one.

All of which meant that for an hour and a half, David was sitting up, eyes glued to the screen, making a few comments here and there, while Jack took up the rest of the couch lying down, his head leaning up against David's thigh, but not quite in his lap. He studied David's face. He didn't seem particularly upset, or troubled. Maybe he was blowing all of this Chris stuff out of proportion. He didn't want to be the kind of friend who made a big deal about being a third wheel, or got possessive. And David was as much of an adult as Jack was. He'd voiced his concerns, and now they were having Quality Friend Time, and maybe that's just where Jack's involvement in this story ended. That is, unless David wanted a rebound at some point, because he would probably enlist Jack's help if he ever tried to navigate those waters. More because of a lack of confidence than anything else, because David was friendly and clever enough to be instantly likeable, and shy enough to not be intimidating. And he was attractive, obviously. There was no other way to put it: David was just really, really good to look at. So that's what Jack did--he looked, and he thought, and he hoped beyond hope that they would both turn out okay. 

\---------------------

The movie was over--had been over for a while, maybe?--and neither of them moved. Jack almost felt like he was in a trance, feeling the warmth of another person, and not just any person, _David_ , seeping into the top of his head in a way that calmed his whole body down. All of a sudden, Jack felt way too aware of himself, and the situation, and spoke up. "Hey, can you drive me out to the suburbs tomorrow? Gummy vitamins were on sale this week. I'm gonna sell them to the high school kids."

"Again? How long are you going to do this?"

"As long as weed is illegal and rich kids are gullible. It's called punching up, Davey. And taking advantage of a situation. And, uh, keeping kids clean. Stop them from doing drugs. If they can't tell the difference between a multivitamin and a weed gummy, then clearly I'm doing them a favor."

"Man, you smoke weed. You got _me _to smoke weed."__

__"Yeah, well. I was always a lost cause. And it's no fun unless I can bring you down to my level."_ _

__"You are not a lost cause, Jack."_ _

__"It's okay, I own it. You're the good one, you know? I'm like your court jester."_ _

__"Don't say that," David said, suddenly turning serious. "That's not funny. You're loyal and kind and probably the most interesting person I've ever met. That's worth something."_ _

__Jack looked up, and made eye contact with David for the first time since they'd sat down. "Okay." He paused for a few seconds, as they continued to look at each other. "Thanks, Davey." He shifted a little, leaned his head into David's side slightly more. "Let's watch _Scream_."_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Slaps the roof of car* you wouldn't believe how much I can project onto these bad boys.


End file.
